Method and system for treating or preventing type ii diabetes and/or reducing inflammation and body weight/waist circumference

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure describes methods and systems for decreasing inflammation, overcoming addiction to processed sugars and excess carbohydrates, reversing or stabilizing diabetes, and/or reducing body weight or waist circumference in a human being by way of a dietary program. The dietary program involves a participant ingesting either (1) a prescribed formula or (2) a meal, at regular intervals between 2.5 and 4.5 hours throughout the day. The prescribed formula contains (a) between 3 g and 9 g of natural sugar provided by an appropriate serving of fruit or fruit juice, and (b) at least 8 ounces of water. Each meal may have relatively few restrictions, though in some embodiments the meal may contain a cap on the amount and/or type of carbohydrates. When the dietary program is followed for a number of successive days, participants have reported significant losses in weight and waist circumference, a significant reduction in inflammation, a reduced addiction cycle of cravings for processed sugars and excess carbohydrates, and significantly improved blood sugar levels.

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/027,808, filed Jul. 5, 2018, the entirety of which is incorporated byreference herein.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure generally relates to methods and systems relatingto a dietary program for decreasing inflammation, overcoming addictionto processed sugars and excess carbs, stabilizing or reversing Type IIdiabetes through non-therapeutic treatment, and/or reducing body weightand waist circumference in a human being.

America has a weight problem. Currently, about 70% of Americans areconsidered overweight and about 40% of Americans are considered obese.

There are countless number of weight-loss programs on the market thatare designed to combat this problem. Many of these programs takeapproaches that place significant restrictions on what a user can eat.For instance, some diet programs require a user to limit the number ofcalories ingested per meal and/or per day, such as by using complicatedpoint systems. Other programs require a user to give up many types offoods or macronutrients, such as carbohydrates (e.g., so-called “nocarb” diets). Because of the restrictive nature of these diet programs,they are difficult for many Americans to follow for an extended periodof time.

Moreover, many weight-loss programs also promote rigorous exercise as anintegral part of the program. However, it is easy for a participant in aweight-loss program to lose motivation for such rigorous exercise. As aparticipant in the weight-loss program fails to exercise, results willlag and the participant will often quit the program altogether.Accordingly, an exercise component to a weight-loss program also makesit difficult for many Americans to follow for an extended period oftime.

Further, it has presently been recognized that these diet programs failto take into account the true nature of America's weight problem.Although many diets understand that there is a psychological componentto weight problems (overweight and obesity), none of the diets haveaddressed the overweight/obesity epidemic as a physical addiction. Thepresent inventor has recognized that Americans not only psychologicallybut also physically addicted to processed sugars and excesscarbohydrates.

This addiction operates in the same manner as other addictions, such asaddictions to nicotine, alcohol, heroin, cocaine, and other drugs.Namely, each addiction can be linked with a receptor site in the brain.As with other addictive substances, and without being bound by theory,it is believed that the brain has a dopamine receptor site associatedwith sugar. When the dopamine receptor site is stimulated by sugar, itreleases dopamine. When that dopamine receptor site is not stimulated,it sends out messages that make a person crave sugar. As a result, andin order to alleviate the cravings, the person will seek to stimulatethe receptor. Due to the high processed sugar content of many foods inAmerica, the person will typically ingest more sugar and/orcarbohydrates than is needed to stimulate the receptor site. While someof the ingested sugars and/or carbohydrates are used by the body forenergy and to maintain the person's blood sugar level, the excess sugarand/or carbohydrates ingested by the person places the person into astate of glucose toxicity, in which the excess sugar/carbohydrates areprocessed and stored in the person's adipocyte (fat) cells. When theblood sugar level decreases, it leaves the receptor unstimulated,causing the person to crave additional sugar sooner than is needed. Thestimulation cycle of the receptor, in association with the fluctuationsin blood sugar levels, place the person into a constant cycle, orroller-coaster, between craving and ingesting processed sugars andexcess carbohydrates. This roller-coaster cycle is similar to thatexperienced by persons afflicted with other physical addictions.

Moreover, as with other addictions, the more often and/or the moreintensely the dopamine receptor is stimulated, the greater the amount ofsugar or carbohydrates is needed to stimulate the receptor to obtain adesired pleasurable result. This leads to the person eating greaterquantities of sugars/carbohydrates and/or eating sugars/carbohydratesmore often in order to stimulate the receptor to obtain the desiredpleasurable result.

The roller-coaster cycle also subjects a person to a recurrent state ofglucose toxicity, which can lead to a pre-diabetic or diabetic state,i.e. Type II diabetes. When the body is in a state of glucose toxicity,the pancreas (which produces the insulin that moves blood sugar into thebody's cells) is placed under stress. For instance, when a personroutinely ingests excess sugars or carbohydrates, the person's fastingblood sugar level rises above a healthy range (usually defined as ablood sugar level of 70 to 99 mg/dL). In response, the pancreas producesinsulin which distributes the surplus blood sugar to body cells,including adipocyte (fat) cells. The cycle of cravings and ingestion ofprocessed sugars and excess carbohydrates causes repeated blood sugarspikes, which places the pancreas under repeated stresses. Over time,these stresses cause the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas tofatigue and/or die. As the cells fatigue and/or die, the pancreasbecomes less efficient, at which point the person may enter apre-diabetic (usually defined as a blood sugar level of 100 to 124mg/dL) or diabetic state (usually defined as a blood sugar level above125 mg/dL).

The addiction to processed sugars and excess carbohydrates—and theresulting cycle of ingestion and craving—also plays a primary role inAmerica's weight and waist circumference problem, which is closelyassociated with chronic inflammation. It is now well-established that aperson's adipocyte (fat) cells act as an endocrine organ, producing thechemicals that cause a chronic state of inflammation, such as cytokines,e.g., IL-6 (Interleukin-6), IL-8 (Interleukin-8), IL-18(Interleukin-18), TNF-a (Tumor necrosis factoralpha), CRP (C-reactiveprotein), and leptin.

Specifically, when excess sugar and carbohydrates ingested by a personare processed and stored in the person's adipocyte (fat) cells, itcauses those fat cells to swell. As the adipose cells swell, many ofthem begin to leak or burst, causing cellular debris. In response, thebody sends macrophages, a type of white blood cell, to digest thereleased cellular debris. These macrophages release inflammation-causingchemicals. Under normal circumstances, macrophages clean up cellulardebris and move on to the next job, so the impact of the resultinginflammation is short-lived. With swollen adipose tissue, however, thedamage is most often ongoing (unless a person begins to shrink his/heradipocyte (fat) cells, such as through prolonged weight/waistcircumference loss). The more weight a person gains, the larger theadipose cells become, and the more likely they are to leak or burst. Asmore adipose cells leak or burst, more macrophages are introduced, andmore inflammation-causing chemicals are released. Because the ongoinginflammation cannot be contained in the fat tissue, it spills out intothe body and becomes chronic and systemic.

Inflammation has been closely linked with a variety of diseases familiarto Americans, including Alzheimer's, arthritis, cancer, diabetes,depression, cardiovascular disease, and stroke Inflammation is alsoassociated with amplified aging. Thus, rather than addressing theproblem as one of weight, in some embodiments, the present inventorprefers to address the problem in terms of a person's health. In otherwords, weight loss need not be the priority of the methods and systemsdescribed herein, although it will certainly be a byproduct of thosemethods and systems. Rather, in some embodiments, the priority may bereducing waist circumference, reducing inflammation, lessening oreliminating a person's addiction to processed sugars and excesscarbohydrates, reversing or stabilizing a diabetic or pre-diabeticstate, and/or treating or preventing Type II diabetes.

The present invention provides methods and systems configured to assistusers in lessening or overcoming an addiction to processed sugar andexcess carbohydrates. In doing so, the methods and systems are designedto decrease inflammation, prevent or treat a diabetic state, and reducebody weight/waist circumference. By treating a user's addiction toprocessed sugars and excess carbohydrates, embodiments of the presentinvention provide a program that is easier for a person to maintain overtime than typical diet programs. Moreover, embodiments of the presentinvention provide a dietary program that is more natural and lesscomplicated than conventional dietary programs, which have not worked(as evidenced by the proportion of Americans that are consideredoverweight or obese). As described in more detail below, the methods andsystems of the present invention also place relatively few restrictionson what a user can or cannot eat, which also contributes to an improvedlikelihood of program maintenance.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to methods forstimulating a person's dopamine receptor in a controlled manner so as tobreak the cycle of cravings and over-ingestion of sugars and excesscarbohydrates. In order to stimulate a person's dopamine receptor with arelatively low amount of sweetness (e.g. compared to processed sugarsand artificial sweeteners) in a controlled manner, a person shouldingest a prescribed amount of natural sugar, such as from fruit or fruitjuice, at defined intervals throughout the day. By controlled,relatively low-intensity, natural stimulation of the dopamine receptor,a less-additive dopamine response may be produced. Over time, a personwill become accustomed to the controlled, lower-intensity (i.e. smalleramount of dopamine released), natural stimulation, breaking theaddiction cycle of relatively intense stimulations andsugar/carbohydrate cravings necessary to bring about those intensestimulations. Therefore, after performing the methods/systems ofembodiments described herein, in order to stimulate the receptor, aperson will no longer need to ingest an amount of sugar/carbohydratesthat will place them into a state of glucose toxicity.

Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to methods fortreating or preventing a diabetic or pre-diabetic state, e.g. bystabilizing or reversing an existing trend toward increasing blood sugarlevels. In order to do so, a person should ingest a prescribed amount ofnatural sugar, such as from fruit or fruit juice, at defined intervalsthroughout the day. The prescribed amounts of natural sugar and thedefined intervals may be selected so as to maintain the person's bloodsugar level at a healthy level, i.e. one in which the body hassufficient blood sugar to use for energy but that avoids glucosetoxicity. By avoiding blood glucose spikes in this manner, the pancreasis not placed under repeated stresses. Rather, the pancreas is keptworking at the relatively low levels, i.e. producing a relatively lowamount of insulin over a period of time, which allow it to workefficiently. Accordingly, embodiments of the methods/systems describedherein may be useful in the non-therapeutic (i.e. not using drugs)treatment or prevention of Type II diabetes.

Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to methods fordecreasing inflammation in a person. In order to do so, a person shouldingest a prescribed amount of natural sugar, such as from fruit or fruitjuice, at defined intervals throughout the day. This prevents glucosetoxicity events from occurring or at least minimizes the number andintensity of glucose toxicity events that occur. By minimizing glucosetoxicity, embodiments of the methods/systems described herein reduce theamount of sugars and carbohydrates that are converted to fat and storedin adipose tissue, which reduces the amount of inflammation-causingchemicals produced by the adipocyte cells (for instance, as describedabove). Moreover, by providing a person with a diet that is relativelyeasy to follow, due for instance to both (a) the reduced cravings forsugar and excess carbohydrates described above and (b) the relativelyfew restrictions on what a user can eat, embodiments of themethods/systems described herein assist a person in shrinking his or heradipocyte (fat) cells, removing a long-term source of chronicinflammation. As a byproduct, embodiments of the methods/systemsdescribed herein are also effective as way for a person to lose weight,i.e. as a non-therapeutic slimming method.

Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to methods forovercoming a person's addiction to processed sugars and excesscarbohydrates, treating or preventing a diabetic or pre-diabetic state,decreasing inflammation in a person, and/or reducing a person's bodyweight and/or waist circumference. The method involves ingesting either(1) a prescribed formula that is designed to keep the person's dopaminereceptor in the brain stimulated in a controlled, non-addictive manner,and to maintain the person's blood sugar at a healthy level forproviding energy and avoiding glucose toxicity, or (2) a meal, the mealbeing limited only in that it does cause a significant blood sugarspike, at regular intervals between 2 and 5 hours, more desirablybetween 2.5 and 4.5 hours or between 3 and 4 hours, throughout thecourse of a day, excepting of course when the person is asleep. Themethod may be repeated for a period of successive days until desiredresults are achieved.

The prescribed formula preferably contains natural sugar in an amountbetween 3 grams and 9 grams and at least 8 ounces of water (which, it isbelieved, assists with an effective absorption of the sugar). Byregular, low-level refreshing of the dopamine receptor with this amountof natural sugar, a person's dopamine receptor is less likely to form anaddictive stimulation cycle and the person's blood sugar level ismaintained within a healthy zone in which the ingested sugars are notstored in adipocyte (fat) cells, but rather sourced for energy.

In some embodiments, the natural sugar may be provided by an appropriateserving of fruit or fruit juice. The serving size of fruit or fruitjuice that provides between 3 and 9 grams of natural sugar will varydepending on the identity of the particular fruit or fruit juice. Insome embodiments, for instance, the method may include providing aperson with a table or database of serving sizes for various fruitsand/or fruit juices. Alternatively, the method may include providing aperson with appropriate serving sizes of fruits and/or fruit juices. Insome embodiments, the natural sugar may be provided by a supplement,such as a supplement designed to be ingested on its own, a supplementdesigned to be mixed with water (e.g. with at least 8 ounces of water),or a supplement contains water (e.g. at least 8 ounces of water).

There may be no limitations on what types of food may be present in eachmeal. Rather, the only limitation placed on each meal is that it notproduce a significant spike in the person's blood sugar, i.e. a spikethat would take the person well outside the healthy range and into aglucose toxicity event. In some embodiments, for instance, the onlylimitation placed on the meals may be that the meals each contain atmaximum amount of carbohydrates. For instance, the meals may eachdesirably contain at most 80 grams of carbohydrates, more desirably themeals each contain at most 75 grams of carbohydrates, more desirably themeals each contain at most 70 grams of carbohydrates, more desirably themeals each contain at most 60 grams of carbohydrates. For example, itmay be particularly desirable that each meal contain between 45 gramsand 60 grams of carbohydrates, i.e., the range recommended by theAmerican Diabetes Association. In other embodiments, the meal may belimited based on the type of carbohydrates provided by the meal. Forinstance, in some embodiments, the meal may be limited to one comprisingpredominantly complex carbohydrates, which are broken down more slowlyby the body (relative to simple carbohydrates) and thus which will beless likely to cause blood sugar spikes. In some embodiments, the mealmay be limited both by a maximum amount of carbohydrates and by a typeof carbohydrates. For example, in some embodiments, each meal mightcontain at most 80 grams of carbohydrates, wherein the carbohydrates arepredominantly complex carbohydrates.

Notably, in order to follow the method of the present disclosure, thereneed not be any other restriction on the composition of each meal. Forexample, there may be no restriction on the number of calories, theamount of fat, the amount of protein, etc. In some embodiments, however,as is described elsewhere, each meal may also have the restriction ofnot containing any processed sugar.

The regular intervals may be any amount of time that is at least about 2hours, more desirably at least about 2.5 hours. In some embodiments, theintervals may desirably range between 2.5 hours and 4.5 hours. Forinstance, it may be particularly desirable that most of the intervalsare between about 3 hours and about 4 hours.

In some embodiments, there may also be few restrictions placed on what aperson may eat during the intervals between prescribed formulas and/ormeals. For instance, if a person becomes hungry during an interval, theperson may eat without departing from the method. The only limitation onsuch eating is that the mid-interval food does not contain processedsugar or carbohydrates sufficient to cause a significant blood sugarspike. For example, if a person gets hungry mid-interval, the person maybe instructed to eat a natural sugar, low-carbohydrate, high-proteinfood, such as cashews, almonds, beef jerky, eggs, or the like. Again, insome embodiments, as is described elsewhere, the food may also have therestriction of not containing any processed sugar.

In some embodiments, there may also be no prescribed exercise componentto the dietary program. While exercise is generally helpful for losingweight and increasing health, a participant in the dietary program neednot exercise in order to achieve the types of results described herein.The lack of an exercise component, as well as the minimal restrictionson the types and amounts of foods that may be consumed, leads to anextremely high proportion of participants maintaining the dietaryprogram over time with relative ease, i.e. with little to no difficulty.

Although there may be no prescribed exercise component, afterparticipation in the dietary programs described herein for a period oftime, a participant will experience a number of effects (e.g. increasedenergy, better mental clarity, less joint pain, etc.), which typicallyleads to the participant choosing to increase his/her level of physicalactivity. For instance, after one to two months of participation in anembodiment of the dietary program described herein, the vast majority ofparticipants, who were previously did not exercise, have begun toexercise.

In some embodiments, the method may further include the person ingestingat least a minimum number of prescribed formulas throughout the courseof the day. For instance, in some embodiments, a person may be requiredto ingest at least 2 prescribed formulas per day, alternatively at least3 prescribed formulas per day, alternatively at least 4 prescribedformulas per day. In some embodiments, there may be no restrictions onhow many prescribed formulas must be ingested per day, but a minimumnumber may be provided as a recommendation. For instance, it may berecommended that a person ingest at least 2 prescribed formulas per day,alternatively at least 3 prescribed formulas per day, alternatively atleast 4 prescribed formulas per day. For instance, it may be recommendedthat a person ingest between 3 and 6 prescribed formulas per day.

For instance, in some embodiments, a person may ingest or it may berecommended for the person to ingest between 1 and 3 meals per day. Insome embodiments, a person may ingest or it may be recommended for theperson to ingest at least one meal and at least three formulas in a day,alternatively at least two meals and at least three formulas in a day.For example, a person may be instructed to ingest at least one meal andbetween three and six prescribed formulas in a day. In some embodiments,a person may ingest or it may be recommended for the person to ingest nomore than three meals per day, alternatively no more than two meals perday.

The method of the present disclosure may be performed for any durationthat is sufficient to provide results. However, while there is nolimitation on the number of successive days that the method beperformed, there may be a minimum number of days required to overcomethe person's addiction to processed sugar and excess carbohydrates. Forinstance, it may be required that the method be performed for at least 4weeks in order to overcome an addiction to processed sugar and excesscarbohydrates. In some embodiments, the method may also includeeliminating processed sugars from the diet for at least 4 weeks. Whilethe elimination of processed sugars may sound difficult, the routinelow-level stimulation of the dopamine receptor achieved by the methoddisclosed herein greatly reduces the cravings that often lead to theingestion of those processed sugars. Therefore, the methods of thepresent disclosure are configured to facilitate the significantreduction or elimination of processed sugars.

In some embodiments, the method may be performed as a foundational diet,meaning that after it has been performed for a minimum period of timenecessary to overcome the person's addiction to processed sugar andexcess carbohydrates, the method may be followed less strictly. So longas the person does not go back to eating large amounts of processedsugars and/or excess carbohydrates, it is believed that the addictioncycle of cravings and ingestion of such materials may be broken, i.e.significantly lessened or eliminated. This enhances the likelihood ofthe person maintaining a diet that reduces glucose toxicity, decreasesinflammation, reduces body weight and waist circumference, etc.

Embodiments of the present disclosure are also directed to methods forassisting a person to overcome an addiction to processed sugars andexcess carbohydrates, treat or prevent a diabetic or pre-diabetic state,decrease inflammation, and/or reduce body weight and waistcircumference. The method includes instructing and/or causing the personto ingest either (i) a serving size of fruit juice that provides between3 grams and 9 grams of natural sugar in combination with at least 8ounces of water or (ii) a meal having an amount and/or type ofcarbohydrate that will avoid a significant blood sugar spike, e.g. ameal containing a maximum amount of carbohydrates (for example at most80 g of carbohydrates, alternatively at most 75 g of carbohydrates,alternatively at most 70 g of carbohydrates, at most 65 g ofcarbohydrates, alternatively at most 60 g of carbohydrates), every 2.5to 4.5 hours (excepting of course hours spent sleeping) for a period ofdays. Other than the recited amount and/or type of carbohydrates, thereneed not be any other food restrictions placed on the meal, though insome embodiments some additional guidelines may also be provided. Forinstance, in some embodiments, processed sugar may be removed from thediet for a period of days. The assisting may be provided, for example,through personal consultations (e.g. human coaching), publications (e.g.books, pamphlets, etc.), websites or other online content, videos,software programs, “apps”, or any combination thereof.

The method may also include providing a plurality of serving sizes offruit or fruit juice that provide between 3 grams and 9 grams of naturalsugar. In this way, a person may easily be able to obtain informationregarding how much of a particular fruit or fruit juice to ingest. Theserving size information may be provided through a variety of mediums,including printed documents, electronic databases, websites, smartphone“apps”, coaching (e.g., personal coach, dietician, nutritionist,physician, etc.), push notifications, videos, artificial intelligence,and the like. Similarly, all instructions and information relating toassisting a person to overcome an addiction to processed sugars andexcess carbohydrates, decrease inflammation, and/or reduce body weightor waist circumference may be disseminated using a variety of mediums,including for example online videos or other streamable media,television programs and advertisements, artificial intelligence, booksor other printed materials, live presentations, websites, smartphone“apps”, electronic databases, and the like.

Embodiments of the present disclosure are also directed to a process forassisting a person to overcome an addiction to processed sugars andexcess carbohydrates, treat or prevent a diabetic or pre-diabetic state,decrease inflammation, and/or reduce body weight or waist circumferenceutilizing a data processing system, e.g. a computer. The process mayinclude obtaining, as input to a data processing system, the identity ofa particular fruit or fruit juice, using a processor of the dataprocessing system to determine a serving size or range of serving sizesfor the identified fruit or fruit juice that provide between 3 grams and9 grams of natural sugar, and displaying the serving size or range ofserving sizes as output. For example, a user may manually input, e.g. bytyping or through voice recognition, the name of a particular fruit orfruit juice or select the particular fruit or fruit juice from adisplayed listing of fruits and/or juices. Once the particular fruit orjuice is input, the processor will determine a serving size or range ofserving sizes associated with that particular fruit or juice and displaythe results, such as visually, e.g. on a screen, and/or audibly, e.g. byspeaker.

The manner in which the processor determines a serving size or range ofserving sizes for a particular fruit may vary. In some embodiments, theprocessor may identify the serving size or range of serving sizes from adatabase that includes serving sizes for a variety of fruit and fruitjuices. That database may be stored in a memory of the data processingsystem or it may be stored online. In other embodiments, the processormay calculate the serving size or range of serving sizes using stored orotherwise accessible information about each fruit or fruit juice.

Embodiments of the present disclosure are also directed to a process forassisting a person to overcome an addiction to processed sugars andexcess carbohydrates, decrease inflammation, and/or reduce body weightor waist circumference utilizing a data processing system, e.g. acomputer, by (a) obtaining, as input, a notification that the person hasingested either (i) a serving size of fruit juice that provides between3 grams and 9 grams of natural sugar in combination with at least 8ounces of water or (ii) a meal containing a suitable carbohydratecomponent; and then (b) providing a reminder to ingest either (i) or(ii) after a period of time between 2.5 hours and 4.5 hours, preferablyafter a period of time of three hours or four hours. This process may berepeated throughout the day. For instance, after receiving a reminder,the person may be prompted to input a notification that the person hasingested one of (i) or (ii), which will reset the clock for the nextreminder. As with other embodiments, the inputting can performed and thenotifications can be provided in a variety of manners. For instance, theinputting may be performed by voice, by touch, etc., and the reminderscan involve a visual notification, an audible notification, a physicalnotification (e.g. a vibration of a smartphone or associated device suchas a smartwatch), etc.

Embodiments of the present disclosure are also directed to a system forassisting a person to overcome an addiction to processed sugars andexcess carbohydrates, treat or prevent a diabetic or pre-diabetic state,decrease inflammation, and/or reduce body weight, such as by performingany of the methods/processes described herein.

In some embodiments, for instance, the system may include a computerthat stores a software program having instructions which cause thecomputer to receive the identity of a fruit or fruit juice from a userand present to the user a serving size or range of serving sizes for theidentified fruit or fruit juice that provides between 3 g and 9 g ofnatural sugar.

In some embodiments, the system may include a computer that stores asoftware program having instructions which cause the computer to receivea notification that a user has ingested (i) a serving size of fruit orfruit juice that provides between 3 g and 9 g of natural sugar incombination with at least 8 ounces of water or (ii) a meal having asuitable carbohydrate component; and after a defined period of time,e.g. between 2.5 and 4.5 hours or between 3 and 4 hours, present to theuser a reminder to ingest either (i) or (ii). After presenting thereminder, the software program may also have instructions which causethe computer to prompt a user to enter such a notification once theserving size of (i) or meal of (ii) has been ingested.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE Dietary Programs, Methods ofPerforming the Dietary Programs, and Methods of Assisting a PersonPerform the Dietary Programs

Embodiments of the present invention are directed to non-therapeuticmethods and systems for overcoming addiction to processed sugars andexcess carbohydrates, reducing body weight and waist circumference,decreasing inflammation, treating or preventing diabetes orpre-diabetes, and generally improving the health of a human being. Thismethod involves the ingestion of an amount of natural sugar incombination with an amount of water at substantially regular intervalsthroughout the day. Through ingestion of the defined amounts of naturalsugar within the defined time periods, it has been found that a humanbeing may reduce or eliminate cravings for sugar throughout the daywhile keeping his or her blood sugar level within a range in which thebody has sufficient blood sugar for energy and healthy functioning, butwhere excess sugar or carbohydrates is not stored as body fat. As thebody is kept within this healthy zone, the body burns existing fatstores causing a decrease in waist circumference and weight loss.Significantly, this also brings about a decrease in the size of theadipocyte (fat) cells, less leaking and/or bursting of those adipocyte(fat) cells, less macrophages leading to a decrease in the production ofchemicals that cause inflammation, and a resulting reduction ofinflammation. This reduction of inflammation is a major health benefit,which may have long-lasting effects on many aspects of a person'shealth. Moreover, because the body is kept within this healthy zone, therequirements placed on the pancreas are relatively low, which can eitherhelp prevent a person from reaching a pre-diabetic or diabetic state orhelp bring a person who has already reached a pre-diabetic or a diabeticstate back to a healthy blood sugar level.

Notably, a participant in the dietary program described herein maytypically find it relatively easy to avoid processed sugar and excesscarbohydrates (in contrast to his or her experience before participationin the program). Without being bound by theory, it is believed that aperson's cravings for sugar are reduced or eliminated because theaddiction-related dopamine receptor in the human brain is stimulated ina controlled, non-addictive manner. By keeping the dopamine receptorstimulated in this manner, the addiction cycle of craving and ingestionof sugar may be eliminated.

In particular, a participant may be instructed to ingest the combinationof (a) a serving size of fruit or fruit juice that provides between 3grams and 9 grams of natural sugar in combination with (b) at least 8ounces of water. The fruit or fruit juice may be mixed with the water orthe two may be ingested at the same time or separately, such as within arelatively short time period of one another.

The amount of fruit or fruit juice necessary to provide between 3 gramsand 9 grams of natural sugar varies depending on the identity of thefruit or fruit juice. For instance, a person may be instructed toconsume about one third of a banana in combination with at least 8ounces of water. Alternatively, a person may be instructed to drinkabout two ounces of (all-natural) cranberry juice in combination with atleast 8 ounces of water. Alternatively, a person may be instructed toconsume about one-half of an orange in combination with at least 8ounces of water. Aspects of the present disclosure, described in detailbelow, address a variety of ways in which a participant may be providedwith the proper serving size for a particular fruit or fruit juice.

In some embodiments, a user may be provided with serving sizes thatrange from a serving size that provide 3 grams of natural sugar to aserving size that provides 9 grams of natural sugar. The participantwill then be free to select a desired serving size from within theprescribed range.

In other embodiments, the amount of natural sugar associated with theserving sizes provided to a participant may vary depending on theglycemic index of the fruit. For instance, for a fruit having arelatively high glycemic index, the serving sizes provided to aparticipant may range from a serving sufficient to provide 3 grams ofnatural sugar to a serving sufficient to provide 5 grams of naturalsugar. In contrast, for a fruit having a relatively low glycemic index,the serving sizes provided to a participant may range from a servingsufficient to provide 6 grams of natural sugar to a serving sufficientto provide 9 grams of natural sugar.

This embodiment takes into account the role of glycemic index in thespeed at which the natural sugar is absorbed. The sugars in a fruit orfruit juice having a high glycemic index are broken down relativelyquickly, leading to a faster absorption rate. In contrast, the sugars ina fruit or fruit juice having a low glycemic index are broken downrelatively slowly, leading to a slower absorption rate. Since the goalis to deliver a controlled, low-level of natural sugar to the blood andto the dopamine receptor site, a participant may be provided with higherserving sizes for the slowly-absorbed, low glycemic index fruits thanfor the quickly-absorbed, high glycemic index fruits. As a general rule,fruit juices typically have relatively higher glycemic indexes comparedto fruits because the fruit juices typically lack the fiber content ofthe fruit, which helps slows the absorption of glucose so that it occursover a longer period of time (i.e. lowers the glycemic index of thefruit). For instance, the glycemic index for a grapefruit may be about25 (on the 1-100 scale), while the glycemic index for grapefruit juicemay be about 48. Therefore, in some embodiments, for a fruit juice, aparticipant may be provided with a serving size that provides 3-5 gramsof natural sugar whereas, for a fruit, a participant may be providedwith a serving size that provides 6-9 grams of natural sugar.

In yet another embodiment, the amount of natural sugar associated withserving sizes provided to a participant may be restricted to a subset ofthe full 3 g-9 g range. For instance, in some embodiments, the servingsizes provided to a participant may range from a serving sufficient toprovide 3 grams of natural sugar to a serving sufficient to provide 7grams of natural sugar. This embodiment takes into account the fact thatmany participants will tend to ingest more than the prescribed servingsize. Accordingly, by providing a participant with serving sizes havingan upper bound that provides less than 9 grams of natural sugar, aparticipant has some wiggle room in which to exceed the serving sizewhile still remaining in the preferred 3 g-9 g range for natural sugars.

In yet another embodiment, rather than a range of serving sizes, aparticipant may be provided with a single serving size or a limitednumber of specific serving sizes for an individual fruit or fruit juice.For instance, a participant may be provided with a serving size of aparticular fruit that is sufficient to provide 3 g sugar, alternatively4 g sugar, alternatively 5 g sugar, alternatively 6 g sugar,alternatively 7 g sugar, alternatively 8 g sugar, alternatively 9 gsugar, alternatively any combination of the above (e.g., a serving sizesufficient to provide 3 g and a serving size sufficient to provide 8 g).

In some embodiments, the 3-9 grams of natural sugar may be provided notby a serving of fruit or fruit juice, but rather by a supplement, suchas a dietary supplement that may be provided as part of a dietaryprogram disclosed herein. The supplement may be a useful substitute forone or more prescribed formulas. Such a dietary supplement could take onany number of compositions suitable to provide 3-9 grams of naturalsugar. For instance, the dietary supplement may contain fruits and/orvegetables, juices of fruits and/or vegetables, extracts from fruitsand/or vegetables, or the like in an amount suitable to provide thestated amount of natural sugar. In some embodiments, the dietarysupplement may also contain additional nutritional components, such asprotein, fat, or both. The dietary supplement may also contain anynumber of vitamins and/or minerals that are part of a healthy diet. Thesupplement may be a liquid composition containing the at least 8 oz. ofwater or the supplement may be configured to be mixed with the at least8 oz. of water, e.g. a powder composition.

The range of 3 g to 9 g of natural sugar, in combination with at leasteight ounces of water, has been determined to be the preferred amount ofsugar to obtain the recited effects for the defined interval. Moreparticularly, the recited amounts of natural sugar and water aresufficient to keep a participant's blood sugar level in the desired zoneand keep the participant hydrated for at least three hours, therebypreventing the body from producing hunger signals within that timeperiod or lessening the intensity of any hunger signals that the bodyproduces within that time period. In contrast, the ingestion of lessthan 3 g of natural sugar may not provide the body with enough sugar tomaintain the person's energy for 3 hours and may result in the bodyproducing hunger signals before the desired interval has occurred. Theingestion of more than 9 g of natural sugar, especially in sequential 3hour intervals, on the other hand, may cause the blood sugar level tospike outside of the desired zone (glucose toxicity), causing the bodyto convert and store the excess sugar in adipocyte (fat) cells. The atleast 8 ounces of water is used to provide hydration and to assist inthe absorption of the natural sugars.

However, in some embodiments, alternative ranges may be ingested or evenprovided to a participant. For instance, a person may ingest or beinstructed to ingest up to 10 g of natural sugar, up to 11 g of naturalsugar, up to 12 g of natural sugar, or the like. Or a person may ingestor be instructed to ingest at least 4 ounces of water, at least 5 ouncesof water, at least 6 ounces of water, at least 7 ounces of water, atleast 9 ounces of water, at least 10 ounces of water, at least 12 ouncesof water, or the like.

The combination of 3 to 9 grams of natural sugar, generally provided byfruit or fruit juice, and at least 8 ounces of water is referred toherein as the prescribed formula. It is, however, contemplated that aparticipant may not necessarily ingest a serving size of fruit or fruitjuice that provides between 3 g and 9 g of sugar at each relevant timeperiod, despite an intent or desire to do so. As long as a participantusually ingests formulas that are within the prescribed range, a limitednumber of outside-of-range formulas will not have significant negativeeffects and the dietary program and should nevertheless be considered tofall within the scope of the present disclosure.

In general, a participant ingests and/or is instructed to ingest eitherthe prescribed formula or a meal at regular intervals throughout theday. Generally, the regular intervals will range between every 2.5 hoursand every 4.5 hours. More preferably, the regular intervals will rangebetween every 2 and every 4 hours. Most preferably, the regularintervals will be about every 3 hours. If a participant waits untilafter about 4.5 hours, the participant's body is likely to be low onenergy, having already used up the energy provided by the previousformula or meal. If a participant ingests a prescribed formula or a mealbefore about 2.5 hours, the person may cause the blood sugar to spikeoutside of the desired range, bringing about the storage of the excesssugars and/or carbohydrates in the adipocyte (fat) cells.

In some instances, however, a person may use up the energy provided by aprescribed formula or meal more quickly than in others. For instance, ifa participant chooses to exercise within one of the intervals, it may bedesirable to have that interval be on the lower side of the desiredrange, e.g. about 2.5 hours. Desirably, the subsequent interval wouldthen be closer to 3 hours. Or, for example, if a participant is largelyinactive during one of the intervals, it may be desirable to have thatinterval be on the higher side of the desired range, e.g. about 4.5hours. Again, the subsequent interval would then desirably be closer to3 hours.

Generally, a participant will ingest and/or be instructed to ingesteither a prescribed formula or a meal at regular intervals for as longas the person is awake. Generally, the exact time of day for theintervals may thus be set based on when the participant wakes up in themorning. Because the body goes an extended period of time without foodor water, it is natural for a person to wake up with hunger signalsassociated with lower blood sugar and dehydration. Therefore, it isgenerally desirable to consume a prescribed formula soon after awakingin order to bring the blood sugar within the desired zone and hydrate.For example, a participant might wake up in the morning and consume aprescribed formula at about 8:00 am. Based on that timing, theparticipant might consume another prescribed formula or a meal at about11:00 am, at about 2:00 pm, at about 5:00 pm, at about 8:00 pm, and atabout 11:00 pm. For instance, a participant might consume a prescribedformula at about 8:00 am, eat a meal at about 11:00 am, consume aprescribed formula at about 2:00 pm, eat a meal at about 5:00 pm,consume a prescribed formula at about 8:00 pm, and consume a prescribedformula at about 11:00 pm, before going to sleep.

As described above, a participant would generally consume either (1) aprescribed fruit or fruit juice formula or (2) a meal at regularintervals during the day. The methods described herein requirerelatively little in the way of dietary restrictions on the meals. Insome embodiments, a participant may only be instructed to limit theamount of carbohydrates present in each meal to a reasonable serving inorder to avoid significant blood sugar spikes. For instance, each mealmay desirably contain at most 80 g carbohydrates, more preferably atmost 75 g carbohydrates, more preferably at most 70 g carbohydrates,more preferably at most 65 g carbohydrates, more preferably at most 60 gcarbohydrates. For instance, in some embodiments, a person may beinstructed to limit each meal to one containing between about 45 g andabout 60 g carbohydrates, as recommended by the American DiabetesAssociation.

In other embodiments, the type of carbohydrate may be taken intoaccount. Complex carbohydrates are broken down more slowly by the bodyand thus do not cause the same type of blood sugar spikes as simplecarbohydrates. Accordingly, low glycemic index foods that are made up ofpredominantly complex carbohydrates are preferred. In some embodiments,each meal may desirably contain predominantly complex carbohydrates. Forinstance, in some embodiments, each meal may desirably contain at least60% complex carbohydrates (as a percentage of the total carbohydrates),alternatively at least 70% complex carbohydrates, alternatively at least75% complex carbohydrates, alternatively at least 80% complexcarbohydrates, alternatively at least 85% complex carbohydrates,alternatively at least 90% complex carbohydrates.

In some embodiments, the maximum amount of carbohydrates in a meal maydepend on the glycemic indexes of the meal components, i.e. thecomplexity of the carbohydrates. For instance, the maximum amount ofcarbohydrates allowed for a meal may be higher where the meal contains ahigh proportion of complex carbohydrates (and thus has a low glycemicindex) that will not cause an excessive blood sugar spike. In contrast,the maximum amount of carbohydrates in a meal may be lower where themeal contains a high proportion of simple carbohydrates (and thus has ahigh glycemic index) that will be quickly broken down and absorbed bythe body.

There may be no other restrictions on the composition of each meal, e.g.no limits on the amount of fat, the amount of protein, the number ofcalories, etc.

In some embodiments, however, a participant may be instructed to followsome general guidelines on how to eat each meal. For instance, in someembodiments, a participant may be instructed to consume a portion sizeand then wait a defined amount of time before consuming more. Once aperson has consumed a sufficient amount of food, the person's stomachwill send a signal to the person's brain that it is full, whichtypically causes the person to stop eating. That signal, however, takesabout 20 minutes to reach the person's brain. Therefore, in someembodiments, a person may be instructed to consume a portion size andthen wait 20 minutes to give the person time to receive the signal thathe or she is full.

Relatedly, a participant may be instructed to eat slowly in order togive the brain time to release the signal. In some embodiments, theportion size that a person may be instructed to consume before waitingthe defined amount of time may vary. In some embodiments, however, aperson may be instructed to consume a portion size substantiallyequivalent to a loosely-held fist. In general, a person's stomach isabout the size of a loosely-held fist. Therefore, a person might beinstructed to eat a portion designed to fill the stomach withoutstretching it out. If, after waiting a defined period of time, thatperson is still hungry, the person may continue to eat (preferablyslowly) until he or she is full. It is noted that this is not portioncontrol since there is no limit on the size of the portion that may beconsumed. Rather, it is a system that is designed to give a person abetter opportunity to receive a signal from the stomach before eatingmore than the body requires (which stretches the stomach to a largersize, requiring a greater amount of food to be filled).

Whether to have a fruit or fruit juice formula or a meal at eachdesignated time is entirely up to the participant. In general, aparticipant may be instructed to eat a meal if the person feels hungry.If a person chooses not to eat a meal despite being hungry, then itbecomes more likely that the person will overeat at a later time. Italso becomes more likely that the person's body will store fat to use inthe future, as the body plans for not being fed. Moreover, if a personchooses to eat a meal despite not being hungry, the person is likely tocause his or her blood sugar level to fluctuate outside of the desiredzone, leading to storage of the excess sugar and/or carbohydrates inadipocyte (fat) cells and causing inflammation. In some embodiments, aparticipant may be instructed to wait a defined wait time betweenexperiencing hunger and proceeding to eat a meal. For instance, in someembodiments, a participant may be instructed to wait at least 15 minutesafter experiencing hunger before he or she begins eating, alternativelyat least 20 minutes, alternatively at least 30 minutes, alternatively atleast 45 minutes. This wait time may be an opportunity to reduceinflammation (and reduce body weight and waist circumference), as it isthe time in which the body will use up its fat stores for energy,shrinking the adipocyte (fat) cells.

Although it may sound difficult for a person to wait a defined wait timebetween experiencing hunger and proceeding to eat, the dietary programdescribed herein is configured to make it easier. Specifically, becausethe dietary program is configured to keep a person's blood sugar levelwithin a healthy range throughout each interval, the hunger experiencedby the person within that interval should be manageable. Moreover,because the dopamine receptor in the brain is stimulated in acontrolled, non-addictive manner, cravings for sugar or excesscarbohydrates should be reduced or eliminated.

Although it is up to a participant whether to ingest a prescribedformula or a meal at the defined time, it may be useful in some instanceto provide some general guidelines. For instance, a participant may beinstructed to ingest at least 3 prescribed formulas in a day,alternatively at least 4 prescribed formulas in a day. A participant mayalso be instructed to consume at least one meal, alternatively at leasttwo meals in a day. For instance, a participant may be instructed toingest at least one meal and at least three formulas in a day,alternatively at least two meals and at least three formulas in a day.For example, a participant may be instructed to ingest at least one mealand between three and six prescribed formulas in a day. A participantmay also be instructed to ingest no more than 3 meals in a day,alternatively no more than 2 meals in a day.

The dietary program described herein should be performed for at least aperiod of time until desired results are achieved. Typically, bodyweight and waist circumference will start to be reduced within the firstfew days. Similarly, a reduction in inflammation (as evidenced bydecreased joint pain) has been found noticeable within four to eightdays after beginning participation in the dietary program. In someembodiments, the dietary program may be performed for a minimum of atleast three days, alternatively at least one week, alternatively atleast two weeks, alternatively at least three weeks, alternatively atleast four weeks. Most desirably, the dietary program is performedindefinitely (which, for the reasons described herein has been foundrelatively easy to do by participants).

In some embodiments, particularly where overcoming an addiction toprocessed sugars and excess carbohydrates is a priority, the method maybe performed for at least about four weeks, during which the participantmay be instructed to eliminate processed sugar for his or her diet. Ithas been found that the combination of (1) eliminating processed sugarfrom the diet and (2) the controlled stimulation of the dopaminereceptor using the prescribed formulas described herein producesespecially effective results in reducing or eliminating the cravings forprocessed sugar and excess carbohydrates associated with addiction.

In some embodiments, a participant may re-introduce processed sugars tothe diet after the initial four week period, although the intake ofprocessed sugars should be carefully monitored to avoid re-entry intothe addictive cycle. In many instances, however, a participant maychoose not to re-introduce processed sugars because (a) the cravingspreviously associated with addiction have been reduced or eliminated and(b) ingestion of larger amounts of sugar, such as through processedsugars, will actually cause the participant's body to send signalsdesigned to cause the participant to return to the dietary program. Forinstance, once a participant has been following the dietary programdescribed herein for a minimum period of time, e.g. four weeks, if thatparticipant deviates from the program for a number of days, e.g. 2 to 4days, the participant will feel unhealthy, including such signals as anoticeable increase in inflammation (e.g. joint pain), a lack of energyand/or mental clarity, a bloated feeling, a noticeable increase in waistcircumference and/or body weight, etc. If the participant returns to thedietary program, however, those signals will rapidly lessen within a 48to 72 hour period. Notably, the participant's body weight and waistcircumference typically returns to the pre-deviation values within thatsame time period.

In some embodiments, a participant may be instructed to ingest processedsugars infrequently or to try to exclude them altogether.

Embodiments of the present disclosure are also directed to a method ofperforming a non-therapeutic decreasing of inflammation, anon-therapeutic overcoming of an addiction to processed sugars andexcess carbs, a non-therapeutic reversing or stabilizing of diabetes,and/or a non-therapeutic reduction in body weight or waistcircumference, the method including ingesting either (1) a prescribedformula or (2) a meal, at regular intervals between 2.5 and 4.5 hours,excluding hours spent sleeping, wherein the prescribed formula containsbetween 3 g and 9 g of natural sugar and at least 8 ounces of water;wherein the 3 g and 9 g of natural sugar is provided by fruit or fruitjuice; and wherein each meal comprises at most 80 g carbohydrates; andrepeating the method for a period of successive days until the result isachieved.

Computerized Applications/Methods of Assisting Participants in DietaryPrograms

Embodiments of the present disclosure are also directed to processes forassisting a person in decreasing inflammation, overcoming addiction toprocessed sugars and excess carbs, reversing or stabilizing diabetes,and/or reducing body weight or waist circumference, which utilize a dataprocessing system. These embodiments may be practiced by any dataprocessing system including, for example, a personal computer, a tabletcomputer, a smartphone, a wearable computing device (e.g. a smartwatch),or the like. The processes described herein are configured to assist aperson in practicing embodiments of the dietary program disclosedherein. Namely, the processes described herein are configured to assista participant with (1) determining the proper amount of a fruit or fruitjuice for a prescribed formula, (2) determining an acceptable serving ofcarbohydrate-containing components in a meal, (3) determining when it istime to ingest one of a prescribed formula and a meal, or anycombination of (1) to (3).

In some embodiments, the process may be configured for a participant tobe able to use a software program, including for example an “app”, awebsite, or the like, to obtain assistance in decreasing inflammation,overcoming addiction to processed sugars and excess carbs, reversing orstabilizing diabetes, and/or reducing body weight or waistcircumference. The software program may be operated and performed by adata processing system, i.e. a computer.

In some embodiments, the process may include assistance for aparticipant to determine the appropriate serving size for a particularfruit or fruit juice for consumption as part of a prescribed formula asdescribed herein. For instance, the process may include obtaining anidentified fruit or fruit juice as input to a data processing system;determining a serving size or range of serving sizes for the identifiedfruit or fruit juice via a processor of the data processing system, theserving size or range of serving sizes providing between 3 g and 9 g ofnatural sugar; and displaying the serving size or range of serving sizesas output.

In many instances, a participant, i.e. a user of the program, may have aparticular fruit or fruit juice that he or she wishes to consume. He orshe may not, however, know exactly how much of that fruit or fruit juiceprovides between 3 grams and 9 grams of natural sugar. Accordingly, theuser may initiate the program and input the identity of the fruit orfruit juice. The inputting of that information may be performed by anyof a variety of known manners, such as typing, voice activation(speaking), selecting from a list, etc. For example, in someembodiments, a user may be presented with a first choice of fruit orfruit juice and, after selecting one of the two options, the user may bepresented with a second choice from a list of identified fruits orjuices. In other embodiments, a user may simply be able to say the nameof the fruit, e.g. “banana”, or fruit juice, e.g. “cranberry juice”, andthe program may be configured to recognize the spoken names.

After the identity of the fruit or fruit juice is input, the program maybe configured to determine an appropriate serving size or range ofserving sizes—i.e. one or more serving sizes that provide between 3grams and 9 grams of natural sugar—for the identified fruit or fruitjuice, such as via a processor of the data processing system. In someembodiments, the processor may utilize a database that includes servingsizes for a variety of fruit and fruit juices. The database may bestored in a memory of the data processing unit or the database may beaccessed through the Internet.

The one or more appropriate serving sizes for the identified fruit orfruit juice may then be provided to the user, such as through a visualdisplay, a voice over speaker, or a combination of the two.

In some embodiments, the process may include assistance for aparticipant to determine an acceptable serving ofcarbohydrate-containing components in a meal, as described herein. Forinstance, the program may be configured to obtain, as input, theidentity of a meal or a component of a meal; determine an amount ofcarbohydrates provided by the identified meal or component of a meal;and provide, as output, the amount of carbohydrates. The inputting ofthe meal component may be performed in any of the same manners as isdescribed above for inputting the identity of a fruit or fruit juice.Similarly, the program may be configured to determine the amount ofcarbohydrates by reference to a database, e.g. stored in a memory,accessed through the Internet, etc. And the output may be providedvisually, audibly, or both.

In some instances, a user may be able to input a meal or a component ofa meal and the system may be able to either determine the amount ofcarbohydrates or ask follow-up questions necessary to determine theamount of carbohydrates. For instance, a user may input “hamburger” andthe system may be configured to ask the user if the hamburger is on abun, to identify the toppings on the hamburger, etc. Using the responsesto those questions, the program may be configured to determine thecarbohydrate content of the hamburger. In some instances, a user mayalso be prompted to input a serving size for the meal or meal component.For instance, a user may input “pizza” and the system may be configuredto ask the user the type or style of pizza, how many slices, the size ofthe slices (e.g. large, small, medium), etc.

In some embodiments, a user may be prompted to input the identity ofmultiple components of a meal. For instance, after a user provides thenecessary information for a first meal component, the program may promptthe user if there are other meal components and/or prompt the user toinput another meal component. The program may determine the amount ofcarbohydrates associated with each identified component. The program mayrepeat the steps of obtaining meal components and determining the amountof carbohydrates provided by each component until the user has inputeach component. Once the user has indicated that each meal component hasbeen entered, the program may provide the user with the total amount ofcarbohydrates provided by the meal.

In some embodiments, the program may also be configured to provide oneor more recommendations. For instance, if the amount of carbohydratesfor an entered meal is greater than a maximum allowed value, asdescribed herein, the program may be configured to determine one or moresteps that the user could take in order to reduce the amount ofcarbohydrates to a value within the permitted range and then provide, asoutput, the one or more recommendations. This determination may be madeusing any of a variety of algorithms and/or by artificial intelligence.For instance, if the input meal included two slices of bread and a bakedpotato, the program could recommend that the user reduce the meal toinclude a single piece of bread and half of the baked potato, that theuser simply eliminate the bread, etc.

In yet other embodiments, the program may be configured to determine anappropriate serving size for one or more meal components. For instance,as described above, a user may be prompted to input the identity of ameal component and the program may determine an amount of carbohydratesprovided by the identified component. However, rather than prompt theuser to input the serving size, the program may be configured todetermine a recommended serving size for each component, wherein therecommended serving sizes of the components, taken together, provide anamount of carbohydrates that is less than a maximum permitted value forthe meal, as described herein. As above, this determination may beperformed using any of a variety of algorithms and/or artificialintelligence. For instance, a user may input chicken, fries, and saladwith vinaigrette dressing and the program may recommend a quarterchicken, a certain amount of fries, and a medium salad, which wouldprovide, e.g., less than 60 grams of carbohydrates. The recommendedserving sizes may also (or alternatively) be shown visually, which maybe particularly effective since it may be difficult to effectivelydescribe some serving sizes in words.

In some embodiments, the program may also be configured to make one ormore recommendations, e.g. determine an appropriate serving size for oneor more meal components, that takes into account the relative glycemicresponses caused by the carbohydrates for each of the entered meal ormeal components. For instance, low glycemic indexcarbohydrates/components are broken down quickly by the body and aremore likely to lead to blood sugar spikes. High glycemic indexcarbohydrates/components are broken down slowly by the body and are lesslikely to lead to blood sugar spikes. Accordingly, rather than simplydetermining the total amount of carbohydrates provided by eachidentified meal or meal component, the system may determine both anamount of carbohydrates provided by the identified component and theglycemic response associated with those carbohydrates, e.g. a glycemicindex of the identified component. As such, the output may include oneor more recommendations for reducing the blood sugar spike that willresult from the meal that are not solely based on reducing the totalamount of ingested carbohydrates. For instance, rather than simplyreducing the total amount of ingested carbohydrates, at least one of therecommendations may involve selectively reducing the amount of (oreliminating altogether) the components having the highest glycemicindexes in order to prevent a blood sugar spike.

In some embodiments, the process may include assistance for aparticipant to remember when an interval has run out or is about to runout, i.e. when it is appropriate to consume either a prescribed formulaor a meal. For instance, the program may be configured to obtain, asinput, a notification that a participant has consumed a prescribedformula or a meal according to the dietary program described herein. Forinstance, a participant may consume a prescribed formula upon waking inthe morning. After doing so, the participant may enter that informationas input. The user may enter that information in any of the variety ofways described elsewhere herein, e.g. by typing, by touchscreen, byvoice, etc. The program may then determine the time at which a desiredinterval, e.g. an interval between 2.5 hours and 4.5 hours as describedherein, will have passed. Once the desired interval has passed and/or ata defined time before the interval has passed, the program may beconfigured to provide the user with a reminder, i.e. a notification,that it is time (or that it is almost time) to consume either aprescribed formula or a meal. The notification may be provided in any ofvariety of manners, including for example, a pop-up on a visual display(e.g. on a smartphone or wearable device), an audible signal, a tactilesignal (e.g. vibration of a smartphone or wearable device), or acombination thereof.

In some embodiments, the program may be configured to perform acombination of the above-described processes. For instance, in someembodiments, the program may be configured to perform each of theabove-described processes.

Systems For Assisting Persons in the Dietary Programs

Embodiments of the present disclosure are also directed to a system,such as a computing system, that is configured to implement any of themethods described herein.

For example, embodiments of the present disclosure are also directed toa system for assisting a person in decreasing inflammation, overcomingaddiction to processed sugars and excess carbs, reversing or stabilizingdiabetes, and/or reducing body weight or waist circumference. The systemmay comprise a computer that stores a software program havinginstructions that cause the computer to receive the identity of a fruitor fruit juice from a user and present to the user a serving size orrange of serving sizes for the identified fruit or fruit juice thatprovides between 3 g and 9 g of natural sugar.

As another example, system may comprise a computer storing a softwareprogram having instructions that cause the computer to receive an inputnotification that a user has ingested a serving size of fruit or fruitjuice that provides between 3 g and 9 g of natural sugar in combinationwith at least 8 ounces of water or a meal having an amount ofcarbohydrates less than a maximum prescribed amount. The softwareprogram may also cause the computer to, after a period of time between2.5 and 4.5 hours, present to the user a reminder to ingest either (i) aserving size of fruit or fruit juice that provides between 3 g and 9 gof natural sugar in combination with at least 8 oz. of water or (ii) ameal having an amount of carbohydrates less than a maximum prescribedamount.

In various embodiments, the computing system may correspond with one ormore PCs, and/or user communication devices, among other things. Invarious embodiments, the computing system may be a mobile device, forexample, such as a smartphone or a tablet. The computing system mayinclude a display, a processing unit, memory, user input device(s), andcommunications connection(s), among other things. Components of thecomputing system may be implemented in software, hardware, firmware,and/or the like. The various components of the computing system may becommunicatively linked. Components of the computing system may beimplemented separately and/or integrated in various forms. For example,the display and the user input device may be integrated as a touchscreendisplay.

The display may be any device capable of communicating information to auser. For example, a display may include a liquid crystal display, alight emitting diode display, and/or any suitable display for providingvisual information. The display may also include a speaker or othersuitable component for providing audible information. The display can beoperable to display information from a software application, such as adietary assistance application, or any suitable information. In variousembodiments, the display may display information provided by theprocessing unit, for example.

The processing unit (or processor) may be one or more central processingunits, microprocessors, microcontrollers, and/or the like. Theprocessing unit may be an integrated component, or may be distributedacross various locations, for example. The processing unit may becapable of executing a software application, receiving input informationfrom a user input device and/or communication connection(s), andgenerating an output displayable by a display, among other things. Theprocessing unit may be capable of executing any of the method(s) and/orset(s) of instructions described and/or illustrated herein in accordancewith the present invention, for example. In certain embodiments, theprocessing unit may communicate via communication connection(s) withservers to execute a dietary assistance application, for example.

The memory may be one or more computer-readable memories, for example,such as a hard disk, floppy disk, CD, CD-ROM, DVD, compact storage,flash memory, random access memory, read-only memory, electricallyerasable and programmable read-only memory and/or any suitable memory.The memory may include databases, libraries, sets of information, orother storage accessed by and/or incorporated with the processing unit,for example. The memory may be able to store data temporarily orpermanently, for example. The memory may be capable of storing datagenerated by the processing unit and/or instructions readable by theprocessing unit, among other things. In various embodiments, the memorystores information related to a dietary assistance application, forexample.

The user input device(s) may include any device(s) capable ofcommunicating information from a user and/or at the direction of theuser to the processing unit of the computing system, for example. Theuser input device(s) may include button(s), a touchscreen, near fieldcommunication (NFC) readers, radio frequency identification (RFID)readers, motion tracking, orientation detection, voice recognition, amousing device, keyboard, camera, and/or any other device capable ofreceiving a user directive. In certain embodiments, one or more of theuser input devices may be integrated into other components, such as thedisplay, for example. As an example, user input device may include atouchscreen display.

In various embodiments, the information provided by the user inputdevice(s) to the processing unit may be processed by the processing unitto execute a dietary assistance application, for example. As an example,button depressions, touchscreen selections, computer system orientationand/or movement detections, and/or voice commands, among other things,may be received from the user input device(s) and processed by theprocessing unit and/or servers to trigger a dietary assistanceapplication or set of actions.

In some embodiments, the system may also include a wearable orimplantable biomarker. For instance, in some embodiments, the system maybe configured to receive data from a biomarker that can monitor aperson's blood sugar levels. The system may be configured to display theresults of that blood sugar monitoring. The system may also beconfigured to compare those measured blood sugar levels against avariety of parameters and provide a notification to a user, e.g. if theblood sugar levels stray from within the desired range.

It should be understood that the use of the singular tense in describingany of the above devices is also meant to encompass a plurality ofdevices. For instance, reference to a processor is not limited to asingle processor but would encompass one or more processors.

EXAMPLES

A number of individuals have participated in a program described herein,to significant long-term results. By participating in the program, eachof the individuals was instructed to ingest either (1) a prescribedformula containing between 3 g and 9 g of natural sugar sourced fromfruit or fruit juice in combination with at least 8 ounces of water or(2) a meal containing at most 80 g carbohydrates and preferably at most60 g carbohydrates, at regular intervals between 2.5 and 4.5 hours andpreferably between 3 and 4 hours. Each of the individuals followed thoseinstructions for a period of successive days. The details associatedwith each individual are described in greater detail in the followingexamples and summarized in Table 1.

Example 1

Participant A, a 44 year old male, had a waist circumference of 48inches and weighed 217 pounds prior to participation in the programdescribed above. Participant A was suffering from chronic moderate tosevere shoulder pain due to clinical inflammation, which occasionallyrequired cortisone shots from his physician. After less than one month,Participant A no longer experienced shoulder pain, as the inflammationin the joint was reduced to a sub-clinical event. After almost tenmonths of participation, Participant A had a waist circumference of 42inches and weighed 183 pounds. This corresponds to a 12.5% reduction inwaist circumference and a 15.6% reduction in weight. Participant A alsoreported a 40% increase in productivity at work and a 100% increase inenergy, and a definitive positive influence on mental clarity and mood.

Example 2

Participant B, a 70 year old male, had a waist circumference of 46inches and weighed 240 pounds prior to participation in the programdescribed above. After about nine months of participation, Participant Bhad a waist circumference of 37 inches and weighed 195 pounds. Thiscorresponds to a 19.5% reduction in waist circumference and an 18.75%reduction in weight. Participant B reported that he lost about 12 poundsafter participation for one month. Participant B also reported thatprior to participation in the program, he did not have the energy ormotivation to exercise. Participant B reports that he now exercisesregularly, due to increased energy and mood.

Example 3

Participant C, a 39 year old male, had a waist circumference of 40inches and weighed 206 pounds prior to participation in the programdescribed above. After eight months of participation, Participant C hada waist circumference of 34 inches and weighed 180 pounds. Thiscorresponds to a 15.0% reduction in waist circumference and a 12.6%reduction in weight. Participant C reported having significantfluctuations in energy levels throughout the day. Participant C reportedhaving a more constant energy level throughout the day. Participant Calso reported an increase in productivity of at least one-third.Participant C also reported that the program had brought about asignificant improvement in mental clarity and mood.

Example 4

Participant D, an 80 year old male, had a waist circumference of 42inches and weighed 187 pounds prior to participation in the programdescribed above. Participant D was suffering from high cholesterol andwas taking cholesterol lowering medication. Specifically, Participant Dwas taking one 10 mg dosage of Ezetimibe per day. After almost eightmonths of participation, Participant D ceased taking any cholesterollowering medication and was no longer suffering from high cholesterol.This demonstrates that embodiments of the dietary program describedherein can be used to reduce or eliminate cholesterol-loweringmedication. After almost eight months of participation, Participant Dhad a waist circumference of 34 inches and weighed 165 pounds. Thiscorresponds to a 19.0% reduction in waist circumference and an 11.7%reduction in weight.

Example 5

Participant E, a 64 year old male, had a waist circumference of 49inches and weighed 280 pounds prior to participation in the programdescribed above. Participant E had been suffering from Type II diabetesfor about eighteen years. Prior to participation, Participant E tookfive shots of insulin per day (one 100 unit dose upon waking in themorning, one 26 unit dose at each of his three meals, and one 100 unitdose in the evening), three Metformin (850 mg dosage) throughout eachday (e.g. morning, afternoon, evening), and one dose (1.5 mg) per weekof dulaglutide (Trulicity®). Participant E had been taking Metformin foreighteen years and insulin for about eight years. After about 7 weeks ofparticipation, Participant E ceased taking all of the above-identifiedmedications. This demonstrates that embodiments of the dietary programdescribed herein can be used to reduce or eliminate diabetes medication.

Prior to participation, Participant E's average blood glucose level uponwaking in the morning was 250-300 mg/dl. After about three and halfmonths, Participant E's average blood glucose level upon waking in themorning was 102 mg/dl, which then drops below 100 for most of the day.Accordingly, after about three and half months of participation,Participant E has gone from a diabetic state to a non-diabetic state.

The non-therapeutic treatment of Participant E's diabetes using thedietary program of the present disclosure is also demonstrated byParticipant E's improved A1C levels. In general, an A1C level below 5.7percent is considered normal, an A1C level between 5.7 and 6.4 percentsignals prediabetes, an A1C level over 6.5 percent is considereddiabetic. For many people with Type 2 diabetes, the goal is to lower A1Clevels to a healthier percentage. Prior to participation, Participant Ewas given a hemoglobin A1C test and was found to have an A1C level of8.6. After two months of participation in the program described above,Participant E was again given a hemoglobin A1C test and was found tohave an A1C level of 6.8. After four months of participation in theprogram described above, Participant E was given another hemoglobin A1Ctest and was found to have an A1C level of 5.1. Thus, according to A1Clevels, Participant E has gone from a diabetic state to a non-diabeticstate after only four months of participation in the dietary programdescribed herein.

Prior to participation, Participant E also had high blood pressure.Participant E had been taking two 5 mg Toprol-XL capsules per day (onein the morning and one in the evening) and had an average blood pressureof 120 over 80. After about 4 months of participation, Participant E hasa lower blood pressure of 92 over 54 and is now taking only oneToprol-XL per day. This demonstrates that embodiments of the dietaryprogram described herein can be used to reduce or eliminate bloodpressure medication.

Moreover, after about four months of participation, Participant E had awaist circumference of 40 inches and weighed 232 pounds. Thiscorresponds to a 18.4% reduction in waist circumference and a 17.1%reduction in weight.

The results of these examples are summarized in Table 1:

TABLE 1 Waist Weight Starting Current Reduc- Starting Current Reduc-Duration Waist Waist tion Weight Weight tion A ~10 mo.  48 in. 42 in.12.5% 217 lb. 183 lb. 15.6% B ~9 mo. 46 in. 37 in. 19.5% 240 lb. 195 lb.19.75% C ~8 mo. 40 in. 34 in. 15.0% 206 lb. 180 lb. 12.6% D ~8 mo. 42in. 34 in. 19.0% 187 lb. 165 lb. 11.7% E ~4 mo. 49 in. 40 in. 18.4% 280lb. 232 lb. 17.1%

Additionally, after participating in the program, each of theindividuals described in Examples 1 through 5 reported the following:(i) he was having little difficult maintaining the program, (ii) he wascontinuing to either reduce weight and waist circumference or maintainthe lost weight and waist circumference, (iii) he was experiencingreduced or eliminated joint pain, (iii) he had increased energy, (iv) heexperienced improved mental clarity, (v) he experienced less impatienceand felt more calm, (vi) he felt as though he was making betterdecisions, and (vii) he had increased motivation to exercise.

After about four days, each of the Participants reported that hiswrists, hands, fingers, elbows, and shoulders felt less joint pain. Pureweight loss typically results in a lessening of pain in weight-bearingjoints, e.g. ankles, knees, hips, etc. However, the lessening of jointpain in these non-weight-bearing joints demonstrates a reduction ininflammation.

Based on the above-identified Examples, it can be seen that the methodsand systems described herein are effective for decreasing inflammation,overcoming addiction to processed sugars and excess carbohydrates,treating or preventing Type-II diabetes, and reducing body weight andwaist circumference in a human being.

It can be seen that the described embodiments provide a unique and novelmethods and systems having a number of advantages over those in the art.While there is described herein certain specific elements embodying theinvention, it will be manifest to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and rearrangements of the elements may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the underlying inventive conceptand that the same is not limited to the particular forms herein shownand described except insofar as indicated by the scope of the appendedclaims.

What is claimed:
 1. A method of assisting a person in decreasinginflammation, overcoming addiction to processed sugars and excess carbs,reversing or stabilizing diabetes, and/or reducing body weight or waistcircumference, comprising: as part of a dietary regimen that involves auser ingesting either (a) between 3 g and 12 g of natural sugar providedby fruit or fruit juice or (b) a meal having a restricted carbohydratecomponent, at regular intervals throughout the day, receiving, by atleast one processor, an identification of a fruit or fruit juice from auser; determining, by the at least one processor, a serving size orrange of serving sizes for the identified fruit or fruit juice, theserving size or range of serving sizes providing between 3 g and 12 g ofnatural sugar; presenting visually, audibly, or both, by the at leastone processor, the determined serving size or range of serving sizes. 2.The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, by the at leastone processor, an input that the person has ingested the displayedserving size of fruit or fruit juice or a serving of fruit or fruitjuice within the displayed range of serving sizes, and after a period oftime between 2.5 and 4.5 hours, providing, by the at least oneprocessor, a notification that the user should ingest either (i) aserving size of fruit or fruit juice that provides between 3 g and 12 gof natural sugar or (ii) a meal having a restricted carbohydratecontent.
 3. The process of claim 2, further comprising (a) receiving, bythe at least one processor, at least the identity of a component of ameal as input; (b) determining, by the at least one processor, an amountof carbohydrates provided by the identified component; (c) repeatingsteps (a) and (b) until each component of the meal has been input; and(d) presenting, visually, audibly, or both, by the at least oneprocessor, an indication of whether the input meal satisfies therestricted carbohydrate content.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein therestricted carbohydrate content comprises no more than 80 gcarbohydrates of which at least 90% are complex carbohydrates.
 5. Theprocess of claim 3, further comprising obtaining, as input, a servingsize for at least one component of the meal.
 6. The process of claim 3,further comprising determining, by the processor, the glycemic responseassociated with each identified component.
 7. The process of claim 3,wherein if the input meal is determined, by the processor, to notsatisfy the restricted carbohydrate content, presenting, by the at leastone processor, one or more steps to bring the meal within the restrictedcarbohydrate content.
 8. The process of claim 7, wherein the presentingone or more steps to bring the meal within the restricted carbohydratecontent comprises providing one or more steps to reduce the amount ofcarbohydrates provided by the meal.
 9. The process of claim 7, whereinthe presenting one or more steps to bring the meal within the restrictedcarbohydrate content comprises providing a recommended serving size forat least one input component.
 10. The process of claim 7, wherein thepresenting one or more steps to bring the meal within the restrictedcarbohydrate content comprises providing a recommended serving size foreach input component.
 11. The process of claim 7, wherein the presentingone or more steps to bring the meal within the restricted carbohydratecontent comprises providing one or more steps to reduce the blood sugarspike that will be caused by the meal.
 12. A method of assisting aperson in decreasing inflammation, overcoming addiction to processedsugars and excess carbs, reversing or stabilizing diabetes, and/orreducing body weight or waist circumference, comprising: as part of adietary regimen that involves a user ingesting either (a) between 3 gand 12 g of natural sugar provided by fruit or fruit juice or (b) a mealhaving a restricted carbohydrate component, at regular intervalsthroughout the day; receiving, by at least one processor, an input thatthe person has ingested either (i) a 3 g to 12 g serving of naturalsugar provided by fruit or fruit juice or (ii) a meal having acarbohydrate component that falls within the restriction, and after aperiod of time between about 2.5 and 4.5 hours, providing, by the atleast one processor, a notification that the user should ingest either(i) a 3 g to 12 g serving of natural sugar provided by fruit or fruitjuice or (ii) a meal having a carbohydrate component that falls withinthe restriction.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the restrictedcarbohydrate component comprises no more than 80 g carbohydrates ofwhich at least 90% are complex carbohydrates.
 14. A method of assistinga person in decreasing inflammation, overcoming addiction to processedsugars and excess carbs, reversing or stabilizing diabetes, and/orreducing body weight or waist circumference, comprising: as part of adietary regimen that involves a user ingesting either (a) between 3 gand 12 g of natural sugar provided by fruit or fruit juice or (b) a mealhaving a restricted carbohydrate content that comprises no more than 80g carbohydrates of which at least 90% are complex carbohydrates, atregular intervals throughout the day; (a) receiving as input, by atleast one processor, at least the identity of a component of a meal; (b)determining, by the at least one processor, an estimated amount ofcarbohydrates provided by the identified component, and the glycemicresponse associated with the identified component; (c) repeating steps(a) and (b) until each component of the meal has been input; and (d)presenting, visually, audibly, or both, by the at least one processor,an indication of whether an input meal satisfies the restrictedcarbohydrate content.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the restrictedcarbohydrate content comprises no more than 80 g carbohydrates of whichat least 90% are complex carbohydrates.
 16. The process of claim 14,further comprising obtaining, as input, a serving size for at least onecomponent of the meal.
 17. The process of claim 14, wherein if the inputmeal is determined, by the processor, to not satisfy the restrictedcarbohydrate content, presenting, by the at least one processor, one ormore steps to bring the meal within the restricted carbohydrate content.18. The process of claim 17, wherein the presenting one or more steps tobring the meal within the restricted carbohydrate content comprisesproviding one or more steps to reduce the amount of carbohydratesprovided by the meal.
 19. The process of claim 17, wherein thepresenting one or more steps to bring the meal within the restrictedcarbohydrate content comprises providing a recommended serving size forat least one input component.
 20. The process of claim 17, wherein thepresenting one or more steps to bring the meal within the restrictedcarbohydrate content comprises providing one or more steps to reduce theblood sugar spike that will be caused by the meal.